Earthbound
by KayTeeBeth
Summary: "Sometimes she wanted to run, so far and so fast, never stopping and never looking back. Reality kept her stationary." The Doctor, on his Farewell Tour, says goodbye to his best mate. Character Study of Donna post Journey's End, told in three parts.
1. Grounded

**Author's Note: ** May contain spoilers for Journey's End, End of Time and Series 6, but I did my best to keep spoilers minimal. Still, it reads best if you've seen the aforementioned episodes/series. This was originally meant as a oneshot, but it escalated a bit and I decided it worked better split up, so now it has become a simple little story in three parts. In terms of timelines, for the Doctor this takes place between the God Complex and Closing Time and for Donna this takes place post End of Time, but it jumps around a bit. I did my best to keep it clear in the story whereabouts things are, but I'm letting you know now just in case. Reviews are cherished! I take into account any and all feedback.

**Obligatory Disclaimer:** I own very little. Anything in this story that you recognize is not mine.

**Earthbound  
>Part 1- Grounded<br>**

Donna Noble was making do. She supposed, in this economy, that was all anyone could do. She had found herself a decent bloke, at last, and she had moved out of her mother's place. The flat was small, perhaps, but she was sharing it with the man she loved and there was finally talk of a wedding, albeit a small one considering their tight budget. Shaun wasn't earning much, but she really did love him to bits. It wasn't going to be the fairy tale wedding every little girl dreamed of, and she was a touch disappointed about that, but she supposed as long as she was happy it didn't matter much anyway.

She was still working as a temp herself, and a damn fine one at that. Donna was good at what she did and it put food on the table, but she couldn't help but wonder if perhaps she was destined for something more. They were doing the best they could to get by, which was all she could hope for, really, but none of it felt particularly fulfilling.

If she was pressed, Donna would say that she was happy. She had a home, a job, a fiance, and a loving family. What more could anyone ask for? But there were times when she felt an incredible sadness that she had never thought herself capable of.

Often the sadness was triggered by the strangest of things. While most people feared spiders and bees and wasps, they made Donna sad. There was something about squids that filled her with the same sort of sympathy she felt for bald people, though she had never before considered the two things related. She couldn't even look at a pepperpot anymore without feeling some sort of strange amalgamation of gloom and fear and triumph. All these funny and unrelated things sparked these emotions in Donna that she couldn't explain.

She thought it best not to discuss these feelings with anyone because most people would think her mad. Shaun would probably be supportive, but he would suggest professional help and that was really the last thing she wanted to seek. She didn't discuss it with Sylvia, either. Though her mother had become softer towards her (which was actually a bit disconcerting), Donna didn't think her mother would really understand. Nerys would just laugh at her, and any of her other friends wouldn't take it much more seriously. As for her grandfather...

Gramps was someone she trusted more than anyone in the world. Since her father had died, Wilfred Mott had taken over that role. She had found a confidant and a trusted ally in her silly, stargazing grandfather. Donna wanted to talk to him about it, and she had tried to do so on many occasions, but she always found herself unable to find the words. She knew he would never laugh at her, but it was one thing to feel these emotions and quite another to admit them to a living soul, even one as beloved as Gramps. Still, there was comfort to be found in the embraces they shared after spending a long night up the hill, dreaming of something more.

The world knew Donna Noble as brash and biting. She had always been a stubborn little thing, and she always had something to say about anything she didn't like. She was loud and obnoxious and perhaps a little bit shallow. That was the mask she put on for the rest of the world.

In reality, she was tearing apart on the inside. There was nothing remotely special about her, and just like the rest of the world Donna made do. There was nothing about her that said she deserved it, but she wanted something more out of the world. So instead she shouted at it, asserting her presence. If nothing else, she would at least make it known to the rest of the planet that yes, Donna Noble was here and yes, she had opinions. Very loud opinions.

Sometimes she feared for her sanity. Sometimes she had the strangest of dreams, fantastic tales that would seem to explain some of her sadness. They were full of impossible things like giant wasps, bald squid people and pepperpots with lasers. And there was always this man... Always the same man. She had met him once before; she recognized him. John Smith, he said his name was. He had been in their house just once, and she had only caught him as he was leaving, so why did she dream about him?

He was the most normal of men when they'd met, but in her dreams he was anything but. This man with the generic name stared down monsters and offered them compassion. He spouted off things she didn't understand. He was dark and manic and goofy, and strangest of all, he thought she was brilliant. In every dream he would look her in the eye and tell her just how brilliant he thought she was.

Donna wondered if it was all just her vanity. She had met the man but once before and thought nothing of him, but he thought the world of her. Certainly this meant she was incredibly vain. Why him, though? If she really was vain, the man in her dreams could have been anyone, so why him?

The dreams always gave her the biggest headaches. She would wake up in the morning with a splitting pain just behind her eyes. Most people would see a doctor after such persistent headaches, but Donna just popped a couple of aspirin and went on her way. She didn't want to talk to anyone about these things because she was afraid of the answer.

Most of the time she was as sane as anyone, and she couldn't even remember why she had doubted her sanity in the first place. Most of the time she was just brazen, snippy Donna Noble. She was normal and insignificant. She was painfully average. But when those mad moments struck, she felt as though she was the most important woman in the universe.

And that scared her most of all.

* * *

><p><em>Tick-tock, goes the clock...<em>

Indeed his time was running out. The Doctor paced about the TARDIS console room. He had lapped around the console about twelve times now, gone up and down the stairs eight times, and sat down for about six seconds before standing up to pace again three times. In all honesty, he was getting a little bit frantic. It had been nearly two centuries of putting it off, and certainly he had gone on some brilliant adventures. Vaguely, he wondered if he had gone mad yet. It had been proven in the past that he lost it a little bit when he travelled alone. Surely if he had gone mad, he would have noticed. Though maybe all mad people thought they were perfectly normal. Maybe all perfectly normal people were mad...

He shook his head in an effort to clear it. What did it matter if he was mad? He was going to be dead very soon anyway.

The madness and the lack of a companion wasn't what bothered him the most, though. There was so much unfinished business. The universe was a big place and even after centuries of travel he had barely made a dent. It wasn't so much a fear of death that gripped him, but rather a disappointment that he hadn't done all that he could possibly do. The Doctor had made a promise to himself that he would do it all. Before regeneration he would often lament about the multitude of things he had yet to accomplish, but there was always some form of comfort in the fact that there would be someone new on their way to do it instead. This was different. He was the last person in the universe capable of doing these things that he wished to do, and soon he wouldn't be able to do them.

He paced because of the possibilities. What did he do next? Which adventure did he embark on now? He was running out of time to decide.

_Goodbyes_.

That final adventure, saying goodbye, had nagged at the back of his head for a long time now. So many people who would never see him again... He might as well give them fair warning and see them off. It hurt though. Saying goodbye was never easy. He had done it already with the people who mattered, why bother doing it again?

_You owe it to them. They deserve to know. They deserve the chance to say goodbye to you._

He recognized that tiny little voice in the back of his head. How familiar that voice was... And how much trouble it had gotten him into. It was the voice that had convinced him stealing a TARDIS and running away was a good idea. It was the voice that told him to save everyone, even if it meant breaking a few rules. It was the voice of a Renegade.

'Not all of them. You do not need the pain of visiting them all again. Just the ones you have not said your farewells to. Just the ones you met in this regeneration. Leave the past where it belongs. You have already said your goodbyes to them. Tie up your loose ends from this body and do not put yourself through anymore pain than you must.'

There it was. That was the sensibility that was encoded in his Time Lord DNA. And it raised a decent point. At the end of his last life, he had said goodbye to them all. He didn't need to do it again. He only needed to visit the ones he hadn't yet.

_Donna_.

Oh Donna...

He missed her with all his hearts. Sweet, caring Donna. Brash, brave Donna. Snappy, sarcastic Donna. His best mate. He never did get a proper goodbye. He had seen off her family and bought that lottery ticket for her, but he had never been able to see her off personally. But maybe now...

'You cannot,' insisted Sensible Voice. 'The risk is too great. If she remembers, you know what happens. Leave her be. You have done all you can for her.'

Thinking about Donna hurt. Seeing her again would tear him apart.

_You don't have to see them all again. Just her. Just for a little. Give her the goodbye you know she deserves. She won't remember, she hasn't seen this face yet. That was why you didn't say goodbye last time, because she would remember. Say it to her face this time.  
><em>

Oh, but he really did want to see her. Before he regenerated he'd had to be so careful. Now he was wearing a new face, his last face, and he could actually see her, actually talk to her. He missed hearing her voice, he missed having her yell at him and tell him that no matter how brilliant he was, he was still capable of making mistakes. Donna reminded him that he could mess up.

'You messed her up pretty badly. You do not want to face that. You do not want to see her again, the woman who became a better person only to be destroyed at your hand. She is getting on with her life now. Let her be.'

Oh yes, Donna reminded him exactly how badly he could mess up.

Sensible Voice continued. 'Besides, the metacrisis still lives inside her. There is always the chance that upon seeing you, even if she does not recognize you consciously, there is always the chance that something inside her might spark and she may die after all. It is not worth the risk.'

It just wasn't fair. He hadn't had his chance to say goodbye and now he probably never would. On top of all that, it was seeming increasingly likely that he had indeed gone mad, carrying out an argument inside his own head. Seeing Donna on top of everything he had already gone through and everything he had yet to go through would just make things more difficult than they needed to be. If he was going to die, it should be peaceful with as little worry on his part as possible. For once in his life, he would listen to reason and skip over Donna's goodbye.

_Since when have you ever listened to reason? You've lived your life by your own rules and now, as your death approaches, you're choosing to listen to reason? Some things are more important. Donna is worth any of the pain you face, and you know that she won't die. There is still one thing you can do for her. You can still help Donna Noble. Go say goodbye. Don't die with one more regret than necessary._

Renegade Voice was right. He had never followed the rules, and soon he would be too dead to deal with the consequences. The Doctor took a deep breath to steady himself. This was not going to be easy for him, but he had to. It wasn't fair that he didn't get to say goodbye to her himself. She wouldn't recognize him in this body. He had to do it. The Doctor yanked on the levers of the TARDIS and set his course before he changed his mind.

_Attaboy._


	2. Takeoff

**Part 2- Takeoff**

There was a chill in the air, but the sun shone brightly overhead, making the cold slightly more bearable. It was January, the beginning of a brand new year with a new brand of insanity in store, and talk of the Christmas madness was finally beginning to subside. It had been another one of those daft alien hoaxes that Donna Noble had missed out on, and she was grateful for all the fuss to finally fade.

Still, the dreams had gotten worse since Christmas. She never liked the blasted holiday, but lately it had become nearly unbearable. She had decided to chalk it up to the tight budget she found herself under, and clung to that notion like a child clung to a security blanket, no matter what evidence she encountered to the contrary.

The walk wasn't clearing her head like she had hoped it would. When she woke up that morning her head hurt more than it had in a while. She couldn't be sure why, the dreams from last night having slipped away from her consciousness, but her head hurt and she hoped that getting out would help a bit. So far, it hadn't. Instead she had shouted at three people, one of them a sweet old lady, who insisted on getting in her way and being all around irritating. She hadn't meant to snap at them, really she hadn't, but every little thing seemed to grate on her nerves.

Finding a park bench, Donna sat down. All she had to do was just stop and think and breathe in the fresh air. That's right, all she needed was a little bit of fresh air, and perhaps some solitude for good measure. Closing her eyes, Donna sucked in a few slow, even breaths. For the first time in a long time, she finally felt relaxed, sitting on this park bench alone. The wind whipped at her hair, the sun beat down on her neck, and a welcome calm washed over her. It may not have been ideal, but it sure did feel nice. As she began to slip into an almost meditative state, she was snapped out of it by a clanging noise from beside her.

God help the poor soul who had the misfortune of disturbing her.

Donna's eyes flew open and she set her features in her signature Donna Noble Devastating Glare. "Do you mind?" she snapped.

The target of her ire was a boy who appeared to be in his mid-twenties. He had strong features and a healthy head of dark hair that flopped forward, falling into his grey-blue eyes. He was dressed rather oddly, the tweed jacket hardly weather-appropriate and the bowtie hardly fashion-appropriate, but he did not appear to be bothered by the cold weather or his daft appearance. The racket he had been making came from some sort of... whatchamajigger that he was fiddling with. The boy looked up at her and pocketed his gizmo.

"Terribly sorry, didn't mean to disturb you."

Donna scoffed. "If you were going to make a racket and didn't want to disturb me, you could have sat down somewhere else, thank you very much!" She could hardly believe the nerve of this kid!

He didn't appear to be bothered by her irritable reaction. Instead, he reached into his jacket and pulled out a bag. "Jammy Dodger?" he offered.

No, she bloody well did _not_ want a bloomin' Jammy Dodger! She could have snapped at him with those exact words. They probably would have gotten the point across that she wanted to be left alone and cause him to indeed get up and leave her be. She didn't snap at him, however, and instead heaved a sigh. She was tired of yelling at the world, and perhaps, for once, she would humour this kid and indulge after all.

"Yeah, alright." She took one of the offered sweets. "Thanks. I'm Donna Noble, by the way."

The boy smiled at her. "Nice to meet you, Donna Noble."

"Sorry for getting cross with you."

"No, it's quite alright. I assure you, Donna, that you have absolutely no reason to apologize to _me_."

She gazed at the boy. He was rather curious and strangely familiar, like a dream you struggled to remember too long after you woke up. She couldn't quite place if she knew him from somewhere or not but the peculiar way he emphasized the word "me" gave her the idea that she somehow did. Before she could question him about it, he spoke up.

"Is something the matter, Donna Noble?"

She searched his face and saw genuine concern. Who was this boy? He had met her not five minutes ago, she had given off a rather rude first impression, and he was concerned for her well being. There was something in his eyes that scared her. They seemed more ancient than a twenty-something-year-old's eyes had any right to be, and there was enough pain and suffering in those eyes to put all her little financial concerns and bad dreams to shame. But there was something else... Something so warm and considerate. Something so passionate and compassionate. Something that made her want to open up.

Donna looked away quickly, fearing that she would drown in them if she stared too long.

There was indeed something the matter. She felt lost, lonely and frightened. Earth was a big, scary planet, and she was just doing her best to find her place in it. But she wanted more. Sometimes she wanted to run, so fast and so far, never stopping, and never looking back. She wanted to pump her legs and tear through the streets. She wanted to run and run and run until her lungs burst and her heart beat its way right out of her chest. Unfortunately, reality liked to rear its ugly head and keep her stationary. Reality kept her chained up inside her tiny little flat in Chiswick. She had so much to run from, but nowhere to run to.

"You don't have to talk about it if you don't want to." The boy broke her reverie, sounding just a little bit disappointed. He was giving her a sympathetic look.

"Right," Donna snapped. "I don't have to tell you anything. I don't even know who you are."

He nodded. "Exactly," he agreed softly. "You just looked like you might need to talk to someone. I'm a very good listener."

If only she knew. There was so much about this boy she didn't know. She didn't know how bad a listener he actually was. She didn't know how much guilt he felt for her situation. She didn't know how much it was killing him to see her face again. She didn't know that once, she had been this man's greatest friend. She didn't know that she had done everything in her dreams with the man who sat beside her. She didn't know that just by sitting there, he was breaking every single one of his own rules. She didn't know that one day very soon, he would be going to his death. She didn't know that he was there to say goodbye.

She didn't know any of this. She couldn't know.

"I feel... lost," she said finally. "I'm doing the best I can but it's just not enough."

"I know the feeling."

Donna scoffed. "What the hell do you know? You're, what, twelve?" She sighed. "Sorry. Did it again. I donno. You hear all this talk these days about aliens and strange happenings, and I know it's all barmy, but part of me really wants to believe it. Sometimes me and my Gramps sit up on the hill and gaze at the stars, and sometimes I picture something more. I know he does too."

"That's not barmy at all," the boy assured her. "Picturing the possibilities... That's so human!"

"It's not even that, though. It's not just the stars and the aliens. I want more out of this world. There's so much about this planet, our home, that we don't know and we haven't discovered, and I want to see that before I even think about roaming the stars." Donna sighed. "I took a trip to Egypt once. Not even really sure what compelled me to do so, but I was determined to go and get out and do some proper travelling. But it didn't go the way I planned. Nothing ever really does. Now I'm stuck here. And I'm happy enough, I suppose. But I want to see the world, and get out, and do something more."

"What's stopping you?"

"Money, mostly. And maybe a little bit of fear, I donno." Donna's face darkened. "But I suppose that's all well and good for young dreamers like you. You've got your whole life ahead of you, all the time in the world to travel and see it all. I just can't do that anymore. I've got to support myself and my family."

The boy said nothing. He seemed to be fixated on some point far off in the distance, staring vacantly ahead as if there was something he couldn't quite see. He remained silent, but flashes of thoughts danced behind his eyes, as though what he was searching for in the distance was nothing more than the right words. When he spoke again, Donna wasn't sure whether or not the words he used were indeed the ones he had been trying to find.

"Of course, you're right. Reality likes to catch up with us dreamers once in a while, too, and nothing about it is ever easy"

"No, that's just it," Donna agreed. "Reality is hard. I thought that by now I would have had it all figured out. I was supposed to do something big and be someone important. I suppose I'm doing better now, on the mend a bit, but it doesn't feel like enough. I can't help but feel, sometimes, somehow incomplete. It doesn't happen all the time, but every once in a while... It just hurts. And then sometimes I realize that all my problems don't mean a whole lot, because there are countless others suffering much more than I am. I want to help them, but how can I do that when I can't even help myself?"

Donna closed her eyes and took a deep breath. She could feel that awful stinging behind her eyes. When she spoke again, she did her best to keep her voice even and soft.

"Funny thing is, I don't think I ever cared this much, I was always a bit selfish. Still am, I suppose, but it comes and goes, and the pain of this world is just unbearable. The worst part is, there's nothing I can do about it. Not realistically. I could give away everything I owned, but it's just not practical. I feel so helpless."

The boy turned his gaze on her, those intense eyes shining as they looked into hers. "Oh Donna Noble..." he muttered, the emotion in his voice matching the intensity of his gaze. "You're not helpless, I promise you. You're... brilliant. I just think you have a hard time accepting it. Things are going to get better, I can almost guarantee it. Never lose that compassion. Just be patient, and someday you're going to be able to make all the difference in the world."

He sounded so sure of himself, and even though Donna knew that he was talking utter rubbish, she couldn't help but believe what he said.

"If only you knew me..." Donna mused. "You would be questioning my well being. Everything I just said... They don't understand how I feel. I don't usually act like this, and my family and friends would wonder just how much I'd had to drink and how early I decided to start if I said any of this to them. I don't know why I told you, I don't even know you."

"Oh, I just have one of those faces. I told you, I am a very good listener, and people like to spill their guts to me." He smiled at her, a charming and brilliant smile, and rested his hand on her face, fingers brushing up against her temple. Under any other circumstances she would have broken his hand off then and there, but all of her interactions with the boy thus far had been so strange that she decided to just go with it. She felt an odd sort of calm in his touch, and gave him a gentle smile in return.

After a moment, the boy removed his hand and leapt up. "Well Donna Noble, it's been brilliant. Excellent to meet you, I promise." He paused and gave her the most brilliant smile she had ever seen in all of her life. It seemed to have its own luminosity, emitting a glow that reached out and warmed her heart. "Goodbye," he said, meaning his farewell for someone so much more than a stranger he had met just a few minutes ago.

He turned on his heel and began to stroll away, but Donna called out "Wait!" and he stopped. "You didn't even tell me your name. Who are you?"

"Just a friend."

Those three words were very simple, dismissive and casual, but she couldn't help but feel that he meant so much more. She felt that he cared deeply for her, and for that boy to call her a friend was far more remarkable than she realized. Before she could say anything on the matter, the boy was gone without a trace.

Donna Noble could say, with all honesty, that this had been the strangest walk she had ever taken in all of her life, and it had nothing to do with her spending most of it sitting on a park bench. That boy had been someone special. She knew from experience that strangers trying to get friendly with her when she wanted to be left alone didn't fare well, but this boy hadn't felt like a stranger. If anyone else had sat on that bench next to her, they would have received an earful of very unpleasant words and then be sent on their way, but that boy hadn't sparked any irritability in her. She felt much better for talking to him, and she couldn't explain why. She had a feeling that she would probably never be able to, and accepted that fact much more readily than she had expected.


	3. Soaring

**Part 3- Soaring**

The Doctor sat in the TARDIS, alone once more. Sexy was humming in that way she did when she could tell that he was upset, and he absently stroked the console in appreciation. His ship was always there for him, no matter what he needed.

Closure hurt. He felt an awful combination of emotions and realized that both his Sensible and Renegade voices had been right. He really had needed to see Donna, and he knew it was going to be tough, but he hadn't realized that it was going to be quite this difficult. Did he regret going to see her? No, certainly not. At least, he didn't regret seeing her as much as he would have regretted not seeing her. He just wished it didn't hurt this badly.

Donna was still going to get that lottery ticket from his past self. The Doctor had gone to see her before the last time in her life that she would encounter him because he knew that she would be hurting a little more before her wedding than after it. He didn't necessarily like seeing Donna upset, but he liked helping her. He just wanted her to be happy, and if the last thing he could do for her was to make her feel better then he would consider that meeting a success. The less misery she had in her life, the better. She deserved so much more than the universe was handing her, and he hoped that she would make the best of what she was given.

The Doctor had done one last thing for his greatest friend. He desperately wanted her to be able to remember him and pick up from where they had left off, but that was impossible, so he had to settle for giving her the next best thing. After those events on Christmas, the metacrisis in her mind was more fragile than ever, so he had to make her forget again. Those dreams and headaches that she had been having were more dangerous than she knew, and it was all he could do to protect her one last time. He had touched her mind, so very gently, and stopped the dreams. No more would Donna Noble be plagued by the past she could never remember.

She had grown so much on her travels with him, become so caring and compassionate, and he hated taking that away from her after the Medusa Cascade, but seeing her again restored all hope. Though he had taken away that growth, he hadn't stopped her from being Donna Noble. She had saved the universe and proven the goodness in her heart, but she was absolutely capable of doing it again. She didn't like seeing the world suffer, and she could become a brilliant person once more. She would have to find another way to do it, but he had faith in her. The Doctor knew what Donna was capable of, and he knew that she would become the person she was meant to, no matter what her situation. She was far too stubborn not to.

The Doctor had considered going to see Wilfred. He could only wonder what that man was living with since the Doctor had scrificed himself for him, but that was indeed something too painful. He had already said goodbye to him, and even though the Doctor knew that he really should be making things right, he decided to be selfish, just this once, and not deal with that pain.

"Well old girl," he finally said, "I think that's enough painful goodbyes for one day. Let's go see someone who's living a happy life, not messed up at my hand. I know! Craig. I wonder how he's doing..."

Flipping the appropriate switches, the TARDIS dematerialized and the Doctor headed off to continue his Farewell Tour with someone a little less emotionally challenging than Donna.

* * *

><p>Days passed and Donna thought about that strange encounter on the park bench. Nights passed peacefully and she was no longer concerned for her sanity. Days turned into weeks and she pondered that boy less and less. Months crept on and her wedding approached, faster than she realized. She had all but forgotten about that odd January day when the terrifying, thrilling spring day arrived.<p>

Against all odds, Donna Noble had won the lottery. Finally things were getting better, just like that boy had said. His words crossed her mind briefly, but she didn't think too much of them anymore. She didn't have even the slightest inkling that the boy and her sudden change in fortune were in any way related.

When the winning numbers were announced, disbelief was the default reaction, at least on the part of Donna and Shaun. Sylvia and Wilfred acted less surprised than they should have, but they were incredibly pleased and supportive. Donna's mates were quite a bit more incredulous, and Nerys was more than a little hostile, but all in all everyone was pleased. Donna liked the early stages of her fortune the best; The early stages were the easiest to handle, and by far the most simple.

After the initial shock wore off, Sylvia became almost impossible to handle, constantly warning Donna not to be stupid with her money and trying to assume control. Donna, who wasn't five years old and in fact a responsible, if sometimes foolish adult, knew exactly what she was going to do with her spoils.

They did not quit their jobs immediately, nor did they move into some big, extravagant mansion. They heard the stories about lottery winners spending all their winnings at once and plunging back into poverty. They refused to let their fortunes go to waste and instead the Temple-Nobles put enough of the money away to live comfortably when they could no longer support themselves. The next thing they decided to do was travel. The took some time off and saw the world before returning to London to make their living at home.

Donna became a philanthropist. She spent her time volunteering and doing charity work. She had donated a large portion of their winnings and did all she could to raise more. The dreams of the past no longer plagued her, but she did feel a sort of obligation to the world to work as hard as she possibly could in order to make her planet the best it could possibly be. There were still days when she felt incredibly sad and so impossibly tiny, but when she reminded herself that she was doing great things, the best she possibly could, she felt a small sense of satisfaction.

The lottery had removed her financial hardships and now, rather than making do, Donna was really living. Finally she was accomplishing something, doing something worthwhile, and it gave her a great sense of fulfillment. Sure, most of her mates never would have expected behaviour such as this from her, but nuts to them. Donna Noble, snippy and stubborn and sarcastic, was using her headstrong nature to her advantage. She would never give up on this world, the only reason she hadn't acted sooner being her inability to take action. Now that she could, she was never going to stop.

* * *

><p>She saw that boy only once more. It had been four years since that initial meeting on the park bench, and though he looked exactly the same as he had four years ago, Donna did not recognize him. At least, she couldn't tell where she knew him from.<p>

Donna had written a book, a sort of memoir of her travels of volunteer work and all she had done, and the people loved it. The people loved her. Four years was a long time, and she had accomplished a lot since they won the lottery. Donna and Shaun were still happy as ever and her life had become more or less perfect. Sometimes she found herself wondering if she deserved all she had. It was why she volunteered and did philanthropic work; she felt she needed to earn her wonderful life.

It was at a book signing that she saw the boy again. He wore the same ensemble he had on last time, though the stetson was an unwelcome addition. As Donna signed book after book, one of them for the boy himself, she took no notice of the boy standing in the corner, talking to her Gramps.

Wilfred Mott was getting on in years, he had been for quite a while, but nothing would ever stop him from supporting his wonderful granddaughter. He watched her proudly, knowing that she would later complain loudly of a wrist cramp, which was her own way of showing modesty for what she had achieved. It may not have been life with the Doctor, but Donna was still the most important woman in the universe.

"She's doing well for herself."

Wilfred beamed at the curious fellow who had suddenly appeared at his side. "She sure is, at last. I was beginning to wonder if she would ever find her own fortune in this world. I suppose she had a bit of help getting started from an old friend, but I always knew she would manage just fine on her own."

The boy looked at him, eyes wide. "Do you know her, then?"

Wilf nodded enthusiastically. "Oh yes, she's my granddaughter."

"No! Really? Well, congratulations, Gramps." The boy gazed at Donna, a lost sort of look in his eyes. "You should be proud. She really is an extraordinary woman."

"Yes," Wilf agreed. "She sure is. I always knew she was, even if she never believed it herself. She was always kind of silly like that. It always made me sad that most people didn't see her for the beautiful person she was, not even herself. Now the whole world can see the Donna Noble I've always known."

"I don't believe they ever stopped." The boy looked at Wilfred, his ancient eyes twinkling. "She's certainly not changed from the Donna Noble I've always known."

With a tip of his hat, the boy disappeared faster than he had appeared, and Wilfred was left to stew over those last words on his own. Surely that boy couldn't have been... Then why didn't he say? "Wait, come back!" Wilf called out, but it was too late. The Doctor was gone. There was so much he wanted to say, so much he wanted to ask him, but the Doctor worked in mysterious ways. Wilfred supposed he would never see him again, though he would always hope.

* * *

><p>'You're a right old fool, you know that right?'<p>

He had sworn he wouldn't see her again. Last time was supposed to be the _last_ time. Ever. But rule one, the Doctor lies, still applied to himself.

"Oh shut up you!" he shouted at the air. "I've never liked you. All you do is make my life boring. Where would I be without a little bit of emotional risk? Besides, my not-death made my last little goodbye an awful note to leave my relationship with Donna on. I had to do it."

He stood in the TARDIS console room once again, his signed copy of Donna's book clutched in his hands. This one would have a special place on his bookshelf, right alongside The Journal of Impossible Things and his first edition Agatha Christies. The Doctor may have been shouting at himself, but he was far too happy to care. Donna was magnificent. He knew she would be, he always knew, but it filled him with such a joy to see her flourishing. What better way to celebrate not dying?

Donna had hardly noticed he was there, but the brief meeting meant so much more to him than she could ever realize. It had also been nice to see Wilfred again, though there was so much more he wanted to say to the old man. He supposed he could have, but the book store was hardly the best place to have an emotional conversation, and quite honestly he had chickened out at the last second. Perhaps, one day, he would give Wilfred the final meeting he deserved, but today had been about Donna for one last time.

She may not have been the Doctor Donna, part human, part Time Lord and all brilliant. She may not have been Rose Tyler, defender of the parallel Earth. She may not have been Martha Jones, medical doctor and freelance alien fighter extraordinaire. She may not have been Amy Pond, the girl who waited, or Rory Williams, the Last Centurion. She may not have been River Song, the Doctor's enigmatic wife.

What she was, however, was brilliant.

She was Donna Noble, making the world a better place to be in the most normal and human of ways. She was living her life to the fullest and by her own rules, as she always had. She was married and happy and doing something worthwhile. Donna Noble was making a name for herself.

* * *

><p><strong>Author's Note:<strong> OK. So part three didn't turn out _quite _the way I wanted it to. I'm going to admit to some lazy writing on my part. I'm also sorry for disappointing anyone who was hoping for a great big Doctor Donna return and reunion. It just didn't feel like the right way to end this. I wanted Donna to find happiness in life without the Doctor. Yes, they had a friendship for the ages, and yes, she was the best companion, but Donna is so independent that she can't not flourish of her own accord. That said, feel free to rage at me in a review for how I handled this or even tell me you loved it, because I'm not too sure on my own ending for this one. Some validation would be nice. I am a very needy writer. If not, then at the very least, thank you for reading! I appreciate your giving this story a chance. As long as you keep reading, I'll keep writing.


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